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Prospects for a lasting resolution to the regional war dimmed over the weekend. US President Donald Trump rejected Iran’s proposal for a seven-day ceasefire that would have seen Tehran reopen the Strait of Hormuz and restart nuclear talks in exchange for Washington lifting its port blockade. Trump expects the bombardment of Iran to continue after the US midterm elections in November, officials said.
Tehran remained firm in its stance on the proposal and is maintaining that a “negotiated solution” is the only way out of the current impasse. Trump expects to resume talks this week, he told Axios, despite rejecting Iran’s proposal.
AND- Washington wants Iran’s entire fleet grounded: Any airport, ground handler, or sales agent serving any of Iran’s 27 airlines risks sanctions under a 24 August sanctions package. Tehran’s airport listed flights to China, Turkey, and Pakistan last Thursday, but none to the Gulf or Iraq, which is hit hardest given it sees an average of 40 daily Iranian flights moving students, patients, and pilgrims. A handful of countries severed their flight links with Iran last week.
Tehran is threatening and negotiating at the same time. A senior Iranian official told Reuters that Iran could make complying countries’ airports “unusable,” even as its aviation regulator is talking to the UAE.
Meanwhile, in Saudi Arabia…
Saudi air defenses intercepted and destroyed six missiles over the long weekend fired toward Taif and Yanbu, two drones aimed at Riyadh, and a missile at Khamis Mushait, Coalition spokesman Turki Al Maliki said on X. The Houthis said they hit a “sensitive site” in Riyadh and Aramco facilities in Yanbu in response to the Kingdom’s “aggressive aerial raids,” Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said on Thursday. Saudi Arabia struck back the next day with 14 airstrikes and missile attacks on Taiz, Amran, Marib, and Saada in Yemen, Saree said in a separate statement. The number of Saudi strikes has exceeded 1k since the escalation began.
